The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-09-10
ADELE,S DUCKS.


Adele lives in a beautiful country
town in New York State, and though
only eight years old, has great many
friends. Among them are-well what do
you think? I am sure you never could
guess, SO I will tell you at once that
eight of her friends are ducks.
What's that you say? "Who ever heard
at having ducks for friends?" Well, don't
you think that Mary's lamb was one OF
Mary's friends? And you will see before
the story is finished that Adele's ducks
think as much of her as the lamb did of
Mary.
Adele had never seen brood of ducks
until this summer, and thought it very
funny when the old chicken who had
been patiently sitting on duck eggs for
three weeks came out of the barn with
eight waddling, fuzzy ducklings.
The barn is not far from the mill race,
and the next thing Adele knew the baby
ducks were in the water, and their fos-
ter-mother was spreading her wings,
half-running, half flying up and sdown
the bank and cackling very loud. The
napghty ducks would not come back,
but EVAN nearer and nearer the place
where the water swept over the dam.
Adele thought they would all be killed,
and called and acted almost as wild as the
chicken. But they did not seem to hear
anything until two had gone over the
fall; and then the others came ashore.
The two were found by Adele's brothers
and brought home more dead than alive,
one having broken leg and the other an
injured wing. Every one said they
would die, but Adele cared for them, and
they are both alive, but will never grow
as large as the others.
Now comes the queer part of the story
When the ducks came to land again the
chicken would have nothing more to do
with them. She would pick at them
whenever they came near; the two old
ducks in the barn yard picked at them,
and Adele thought they were being pun
ished too much for just going in the
water when they loved itso. So she fed
and watched them and tried to be moth.
or to the motherless brood.
Ducks, as we'll as all other amin ais
very soon learn to love people who are
kind to them, and it wasn't many days
before these ducks knew Adele's voice
would run to her when she called, anG
would even follow her all about the vii.
lage when she went on errands for her
mamma.
A week ago Sunday, Adele was late
getting of to Sunday school, and as she
hurried to the church which is next dool
but one to her home, she did not notice
that the ducks were coming after hel
as fast as their short legs would carry
them. But when she was seated in hel
class, which is way up in the front of the
church, she heard noise, and looking
around, was astonished to see her eight
ducklings solemnly walking up the aisle
They were worse than Mary's lamb fol
making the scholars ''lsugh and play
The boys and girls on that side of the
church were all giRgiing, and Adele was
SO ashamed she hardly dared look up
She could not think what to do, but hel
teacher whispered to her to walk quietly
out and the ducks would follow her
This she did and soon had the feathered
tribe safe at home again.
This is a true story. The ducks are
shut up on Sundays now, but almost
every other day Adele and her downy
family come to my house, which is just
across the street from hers; and what
have written about these unruly children
has been told me by their little foster,
mother herself.-Net0 York Advocate.